ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ACE™ Brand from 3M Company is partnering with reality star
and weekend warrior, Ryan Sutter,to launch the ACE
Brand Champion Challenge, asking people nationwide, “what makes
you a champion?” Beginning today, through Monday, August 19, 2013,
the ACE Brand is encouraging participants to share stories and
photographs on ACEBrand.com/Champions
that showcase what makes them or someone they know a champion.

The first 10,000 participants to submit their champion stories will
receive a free ACE Elastic Bandage in black, a limited-edition color
available exclusively through the Champion Challenge. Additionally,
everyone who participates will be entered for a chance to win the grand
prize of a $2,500 gift card that can be used toward their next
adventure. The grand prize winner and other prize winners will be
selected at random and notified in early September.

“The ACE Brand Champion Challenge allows us to celebrate the everyday
triumphs and accomplishments of champions across America,” said Scott
Erickson, brand manager, ACE Brand Products, Consumer Health Care
Division. “With nearly 100 years of expertise and real world experience,
the ACE Brand is dedicated to providing performance when it counts to
those committed to staying active and healthy. This is how we define
champions.”

This year,the ACE Brand Champion Challenge will benefit FIRST
DESCENTS, a non-profit organization that offers young adult cancer
fighters and survivors outdoor adventure experiences, designed to
empower through physical activity to help them defy their cancer,
reclaim their lives and connect with others who are doing the same. Each
story shared through the ACE Brand Champion Challenge will support FIRST
DESCENTS.

“I am inspired by the work of FIRST DESCENTS, and the champions who
participate and assist in their programs,” said Ryan Sutter. “It is
motivation for me to embrace being a champion in my daily routine by
always staying active so I never have to miss out on an opportunity,
whether this means running a race on behalf of FIRST DESCENTS, or
playing with my kids in the backyard.”

Trista Sutter is also teaming up with ACE Brand and FIRST
DESCENTS for this year’s ACE Brand Champion Challenge. Trista’s
dedication to her family, friends, career, health and wellness also
represents what it means to be a champion.

“I think it’s important to feel like a champion everyday. This feeling
plays a big role in our lives and our household,” said Trista Sutter.
“The ACE Brand Champion Challenge is a way to recognize everyday
accomplishments and reiterate that being a champion means much more than
being the first to cross the finish line.”

“Our goal at FIRST DESCENTS is to change the lives of young adults with
cancer and empower them to climb, paddle and surf beyond their
diagnosis, so they too feel like champions,” said Brad Ludden, founder
and CEO, FIRST DESCENTS. “Ryan and Trista Sutter have been so supportive
of our mission, so we are excited to work with them and ACE Brand to
continue spreading the enjoyment and celebrating the feeling that being
a champion brings.”

About 3M3M captures the spark
of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products.
Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of
powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation
company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M
employs 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70
countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com
or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

About FIRST DESCENTSFIRST
DESCENTS is a non-profit organization offering young adults with cancer
a free outdoor adventure experience designed to empower them to climb,
paddle and surf beyond their diagnosis, defy their cancer, reclaim their
lives and connect with others doing the same. For more information,
visit www.firstdescents.org.